I catch up with Eveia in Hejae's class, but don't tell her about my meeting with Ritter beyond a whispered, "Just family stuff." I don't know why, but I don't feel like sharing everything Ritter told me. Maybe I'm afraid she'll agree with Iskren and tell me I should go already.

Our schedule for the day is the same as yesterdays. Though we start learning some basic skills with Hejae and Kiira, it's more practice with the same drills in Shark and Briar's classes.

That night at dinner, Eveia pulls out the class schedule. "Switching up the groups tomorrow. That'll be interesting."

Wick leans over her shoulder. "Good, I won't be with Rune and Persy." He looks over at me. "Sorry, I know you and Rune are friends. I just don't like him."

"Oh no." I shake my head. "We are not friends. He's kind of an arse." It's the harshest swear I know, even if it is mild. After all, cursing is not beautiful.

Eveia raises an eyebrow. "Aren't they all?"

I narrow my eyes for a second. "Who would 'they' be?" But I know; she means the Viry.

A slow smile pulls at the corner of her lips. She looks back at the paper. "It looks like they've split the groups by floor and room numbers, evens and odds. Caither, what room are you?"

"R11."

Ever since Caither joined us for dinner last night, she's slowly integrated herself with us. First she sat near us in Hejae's class, then in Kiira's she joined our group for basic swim lessons. She sat with us at lunch and now again, at dinner.

Kaz, too, seems to join us periodically. He ate with us at lunch, but now he sits across the cafeteria with a group of boys I don't recognize.

"Kaz will be in our group too." Eveia follows my gaze. "Looks like a fun group tomorrow. Sorry, Wick. At least you don't have those guys."

"Yeah, yeah. I still have Anders to deal with." He glances over his shoulder.

Anders sits with Rune and Persy, and two girls. Every so often, they glance our way. I'm relieved they haven't joined Wick at our meals, but I feel bad thinking Wick doesn't have any friendships on his floor.

"I heard they'll split us up from our roommates at some point. So we don't get too attached to any one person." Caither speaks up.

I feel a jolt of panic. I've already gotten used to having someone to walk to classes with. I don't want to have to make more friends.

Eveia doesn't seem concerned, though, so I pretend I'm not, either.

"I can't wait until we can pick our floors." Wick says around a mouthful of food. "I'm picking the furthest floor from Anders. He sucks."

"Have you guys thought about what floor you'll choose?" Caither asks.

I haven't; we've only had two days of training, after all. But Eveia doesn't hesitate.

"Probably Shark's. Or maybe Kiira's. Anywhere but Hejae's, really."

They look at me, so I shrug. "I wouldn't mind staying put. His profession might be a little unorthodox, but I bet I could learn a lot from Hejae."

As soon as I say it, I realize how badly I want to stay on Hejae's floor. I need him to approve of me, to agree that this is where I belong. I need to show him how lucky the Kuzabn are to have me.

"Mhm." Eveia has her lips pressed tightly together in disapproval. "Should have figured that one."

"What is that supposed to mean?" My voice is hard, maybe too defensive.

She shrugs. "Guess you can take the girl out of the Viry, but you can't quite beat the Viry out of the girl."

My whole life has been about beating the Viry into the girl, but I don't mention my childhood to them. I keep my gaze cool as I look back at Eveia, betraying nothing.

"Maybe so," I say.

                                                                                                    *

The next morning, we trudge down to Shark's gym relatively early, before most of the rest of our group arrives. Like the previous two days, Eveia takes a place close to the front of the room. I'm adjusting my training boot, pulling up the sock that has crumbled under the arch of my foot, when the next wave of recruits rolls into the gym.

"Hey Kazimir!" Eveia calls. I straighten up.

"What's up, Evie? Nadia?" He smiles at me, and I'm struck again by how perfect his teeth are. I grin back.

Eveia punches him in the shoulder. "That's not my name."

"Well, you know to call me Kaz." He moves to stand between us.

"Why does she call you Kazimir?" I say.

"Stay out of it, dollface." Eveia pulls her left arm across her chest, stretching her shoulder. I narrow my eyes at her.

Kaz nods. "She likes calling people names they hate. Makes her feel better about her own name."

"My. Name. Is not. Evie." She accentuates each word with a punch to his shoulder. "Donkey."

"Nice practice." Shark nods appreciatively as he walks past Eveia to the front of the group. "Kaz, I didn't realize a little girl could beat you up."

That wipes the smirk off Eveia's face. Kaz grins good-naturedly.

"Just being a gentleman."

Shark grins as he addresses everyone. "Today, we'll do a bit of weight training, then we're running the Sim." He gestures to the stalls on the mat I'd noticed on our first day. "Let's stretch out a bit, get our muscles loose."

I mimic his motion, pulling my right ankle up behind me, stretching the front of my leg, and bite back a groan. My legs are still pretty sore. After the initial movement, there's a glorious ache, kind of like the pain I feel when I hurt myself.

Controlled. Holding promise of exponential relief.

I balance for a few more beats. Some of the others are wobbling and hopping to maintain balance. As a Viry, I learned grace and balance at a young age. I have little difficulty standing upright.

Eveia and Kaz are discussing floor arrangements. I glance over when I switch feet. Eveia has her hand on Kaz's shoulder, holding herself upright.

Suddenly, I wish I were clumsy. I don't know where that thought comes from, and I blink it away. Kaz intrigues me. Most mysterious, though, is the reasoning behind my interest, since he isn't a Viry.

Still, I can't help but look at him.

"What do you think?" Kaz meets my gaze.

I was only half-listening, so I don't know how to respond. Eveia answers for me.

"Nadia won't hear a word against Hejae."

I can't read Kaz's expression as he studies me. It's almost as if he's trying to understand me, just by looking into my eyes.

I choose my words carefully. "I just think you don't like him because his particular skill set is often seen as less-than-honorable. He still puts those skills to use for the good of the Kuzabn," I respond finally. I can still feel Kaz's eyes on me.

In the front of the room, Shark bends to touch his toes. The class follows suit. We complete the rest of our stretches in silence, but as we move to the weight machines, Kaz says softly, "I think that's a respectable position to take."

My stomach feels hot as I wait beside Eveia for a machine. Kaz's words bounce around my mind, and I realize I'm relieved to know he doesn't judge my defense of Hejae as harshly as Eveia.

It's hard to think of too much else while struggling to lift the dumbbells Shark gives me. It seems every time I get used to a particular movement of the weights, we switch to a different exercise.

Finally, we move to the Sim and stretch a bit more. At least I already know how to run.

Kaz is in the square in front of me, Eveia beside me. I watch Shark hook the electrodes from the box to Kaz's arms, legs, chest, and temples. I'm afraid of what this exercise could be. Will we receive an electric shock if our form is incorrect? I had been confident, but now I'm not so sure.

My heart pounds against my ribcage when it's my turn for the wireless discs.

"Relax, kid," Shark says, his voice a little too loud for my comfort; Eveia snickers. "This won't hurt a bit."

I'm not convinced until the Sim starts. I can hear Shark's voice, but my vision goes dark, then a light blinks on to reveal a dirt road stretching before me. Where is everyone else?

"This Simulation is designed to foster endurance. You'll see in the upper right quadrant of the space before you, a timer and distance log. Today, we're running for a half-hour. Let's see who can make it three miles." Shark's voice fades out and the road starts moving toward me.

I take a few steps, and then break into a jog. A red timer clicks down from 30:00. I can't see any of my fellow classmates, so I don't know if I'm going fast enough. I quicken my pace; the road moves faster towards me. It's as if my surroundings can read and respond to my thoughts.

Then it occurs to me this is probably the reason for the electrodes. At least they won't be inflicting pain after all.

I settle into a pace that's a bit brisker than a jog, but not a flat out run. I know from the times I've run with Krishel how easily it is to tire out if I start too fast. I try to conserve my energy without going too slow.

After ten minutes, sweat drips into my eyes. I feel a tug from the discs every time I lift my arm to wipe my forehead on the sleeve of my shirt. I wish I'd worn a tank top. Even with the scar serum on my arms, I'd opted for longer sleeves. I don't want to draw too much attention to my arms, with or without the serum.

At twenty minutes, I've gone almost two miles and my legs and lungs are protesting. Come on. I tell myself. Keep pushing. I wish there were some distinction to the landscape, some far off feature I could set as my goal, like the apple tree in the backyard when Krishel and I raced.

As soon as I think it, I see my exact apple tree up in the distance. Okay, legs, just carry me to that tree. I know it'll be a hike to the fence beyond it, but the tree is my goal for now.

I reach it in a minute and a half, and sure enough, there is the gate, about a quarter mile further.

Just push to the gate, Nadia. Almost done.

I feel myself slowing down. Even as I reach it, another apple tree stands about a hundred yards off. I feel like I'm running through a muddy field, forcing one foot in front of the other. Just as I reach the tree again, Shark's voice barks through the air.

"Take a slow lap. Cool down your muscles and regain your breathing."

The dirt road slows without me willing it to, setting the pace for me this time. After a couple of minutes, it slows so much I'm simply walking. Finally, it comes to a stop. My vision goes black and then blinks back to the gym.

Kaz's back is drenched in sweat, and Eveia is doubled over with her hands on her knees. Shark makes his way between us, unhooking the electrodes.

"Move back to the middle of the gym and start stretching once unhooked."

After we do our cool down stretches, Shark tells us to hit the showers. He points us to the gym bathrooms, where the showers spit out mercifully hot water.

"That wasn't so bad, eh?" Eveia shouts from her stall. "Nice wake up and a hot shower."

A couple of people grunt in agreement, probably not entirely sure who she's talking to. I don't answer; I'm staring at my arms as the water rinses the final traces of scar serum my sweat hadn't managed to dislodge. Maybe no one will notice them.

I turn off the water and step out, glad that I had chosen the long sleeves for today after all.

Eveia is standing in front of one of the mirrors, twining sections of her hair around her fingers. I watch as she weaves more and more of her hair into a rope-like line down the back of her head.

"How do you do that?" I finally ask.

Her hands freeze, and she looks at me through the mirror, mouth agape. "You've never braided hair before?"

I shake my head. "The Viry don't—"

"Viry don't adorn themselves with anything. Blah blah blah." She finishes twisting her hair and shoves my shoulders. "Turn around."

I obey. She pushes herself up to sit on the counter and takes my hair in her hands.

"Ow!"

She rakes her fingers across my scalp, gathering clumps of my hair between them.

"Oh, please. You want to be Kuzabn don't you?"

"Yes." I try not to groan. She pulls again and I close my eyes and grimace. "This is more torturous than any of Shark's workouts."

Eveia eases up on her hold a bit, but not much. "It's got to be tight or it won't hold."

I open my mouth in a silent scream, but will myself not to make any noise. The torture is over relatively quickly, and I breathe a whimper, feeling the bumps of hair down the back of my head. I turn and look at myself in the mirror. My reflection is worth the pain.

The Viry don't adorn themselves, Eveia was right. They don't believe in doing anything to enhance one's beauty. If it is not beautiful naturally, it isn't truly beautiful.

Of course, there are plenty of exceptions within the Viry. Lightening already blonde hair, laser hair removal, items like scar serum. The Viry take near-perfection and make it complete.

But with this, I feel different. I look different. And all that changed was the way my hair is. Braids should be beautiful. Who cares if they take effort and a little pain? I feel like a new person.

"You like?" Eveia smirks at me.

Of course I do.

"Not all beauty belongs to the Viry."

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Hey, all! Hope you had a nice V-Day, or Singles Awareness Day.  *rubs palms together*

How are you liking this thus far? AI'd love to hear your thoughts and any other feedback.

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x zuz